Davis, CA – The UC Davis Aggies cut the heart out of Portland State's offense by stopping its running game and came away with a 37-23 Big Sky Conference win at UC Davis Health Stadium.
 
The Vikings had been averaging 39.0 points (4^th in the nation) and 247.5 rushing yards (fifth in the nation), but didn't approach either of those numbers against a stout Aggie defense.
 
PSU finished with only 89 rushing yards (hindered by a -24 loss on a bad field goal snap) on 38 carries, and 308 total yards in the game.
 
"We took the tough route," said Viking Coach Bruce Barnum. "We were stubborn with the run game because that's who we are. UC Davis did a nice job of making sure it didn't go smooth. You take away our run game, we need to have some answers."
 
Meanwhile, Aggie running back Lan Larison had 136 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. That led a UC Davis offense that was steady with the run (219) and the pass (246) for an impressive 465-yard total.
 
"Today we were discombobulated. We didn't work together in the three phases of the game. We would do one thing well for a while then do something else bad," said Barnum.
 
The loss drops PSU to 4-5 on the season, 3-3 in the Big Sky, and effectively ends any post-season hopes. UCD improved to 5-4, 3-3.
 
Nationally-ranked all season until falling out of the top 25 following a loss last week, the Aggies were always going to be a formidable opponent. One of the better defenses in the Big Sky shone through. The Aggies were only allowing 126 yards on the ground going into the game.
 
Both teams failed on field goal attempts in their first series in the first quarter. The Vikings had a bad snap on their try and the ball trickled out near midfield where UC Davis took over. The Aggies the drove 55 yards in nine plays to take a 7-0 lead.
 
PSU had just 19 yards from its backs in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Larison and Trent Thompkins ripped off big runs for UC Davis leading to each of the Aggies first two scores. That had the Vikings playing uphill the entire game and they never led.
 
On PSU's third possession it finally got the ground game going. On a 75-yard drive, the Vikings ran nine times for 54 yards. Running back Jobi Malary got the bulk of the action with six rushes for 39 yards, including a three-yard touchdown. PSU cut the deficit to 14-7 with 5:32 left in the half.
 
Hunter Ridley kicked a 33-yard field goal to end the half and push the UCD lead to 17-7. The Vikings had only three possessions in the first half, running just 24 plays. UC Davis out-gained PSU, 244-112.
 
PSU took the kick to open the second half. It didn't look good when the Vikings had a third-and-17 at their own 15-yard line. But Dante Chachere completed a 25-yard pass over the middle to Maclaine Griffin. The first down gave the Vikings a little momentum. Later in the series, kicker Gianni Smith booted a 51-yard field goal, trimming the Davis advantage to 17-10.
 
Late in the quarter, the Vikings finally tied the game. Chachere tossed a 23-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Braddock in the left corner of the endzone. The game was tied at 17-17 with 2:32 left in the third.
 
The Aggies came back with their best drive of the half scoring early in the fourth quarter on an eight-yard run.
 
Smith then had another bomb of a field goal – 55 yards, to tie the second-longest in school history – and it was 24-20 UC Davis with 10:11 to play in the game.
 
A big 33-yard pass play set up the next Aggies score when Miles Hastings hit a twisting Samuel Gbatu. Larison rushed in from 14 yards for a score on the next play. Trailing 31-20 with 7:56 left, the Vikings' backs were against the wall.
 
PSU was stopped at the Aggies' 25 with 6:01 left. Needing two scores, Barnum opted for another field goal and Smith split the uprights with a 42-yarder, making it 31-23.
 
Behind Larison's running, UC Davis got the necessary first downs it needed to run the clock and burn up PSU's timeouts. The Aggies tacked on another score in the closing moments.
 
Portland State was led by 86 rushing yards from Malary on 21 carries. Chachere completed 14 of 23 passes for 219 yards and a score. Braddock caught seven passes for a career-high 102 yards.
 
Tyreese Shakir led the Viking defense with 11 tackles. Parker McKenna made nine tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup.
 

GAME NOTES

• JR K Gianni Smith kicked a career-long 51-yard field goal in the third quarter. He came back to kick another career-long - this time from 55 yards – in the fourth quarter. That tied for second-longest in school history. Another 42-yarder by Smith in the fourth quarter made it three for the day, also a career high… Smith is 7-8 on field goals this season and 17-22 in his career.
• SR CB Isaiah Avery made his second interception of the season and the ninth for the Viking team.
• JR RB Jobi Malary had his 12^th rushing touchdown of the season and 16^th of his career.
• Portland State returns home for a game next week with nationally-ranked Montana. The Vikings and Griz meet Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. at Hillsboro Stadium.